Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance in Retail Food Specimens in the Southwestern United States: Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico The prevalence and diversity of resistance to different antimicrobials can vary greatly among countries and regions, and this might be due to substantive differences in antimicrobial usage practices. Therefore, the goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and Enterococci isolated from retail samples of chicken, ground turkey, ground beef and pork chops purchased from grocery stores in the Southwestern United States including Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico using standardized methods so comparisons can be made to other locations. Achieving this goal will contribute to our understanding of the burden and magnitude of antibiotic resistant bacteria, in retail meat and poultry products distributed in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, the results of this project will provide isolates for further characterization by national monitoring programs as well as novel data to inform regional and national risk assessments on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animal products, and will explore AMR risk management options focused on education and training in the Southwestern United States. During the five years of the Cooperative Agreement, no more than 80 meat and poultry samples will be collected per month as follows: retail chicken (40), ground turkey (20), ground beef 80/20 (10), and pork chops (10). Samples will be collected in Texas (Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Antonio), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City and Tulsa), and New Mexico (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe). Major cities were chosen due to the public health impact on the population in those areas and hence the samples would be representative of a greater number of individuals. Samples will be collected by ICFIE personnel and transported back to the Texas Tech ICFIE laboratory within 24 hours and processed immediately using FDA-NARMS protocols for bacterial detection and isolation. At the end of the five years of this Cooperative Agreement, the bacteriological database for further AMR characterization, both at FDA and TTU, will be greatly improved and expanded. Furthermore, data trend analysis will allow local and federal researchers to determine if resistant bacteria are clustered in certain cities or areas of the country. Lastly, the results of this project will improve educational activities and knowledge of local producers and retailers on antibiotic resistance.